Hard starting craftsman riding 24 hp mower

Testimonial: "Thank you Dale. After I removed the riding mower hood to have better access to the 24 Horsepower engine, I pulled the upper motor cover off and proceeded to check for any and all things that could be restricting fuel from getting to the carburetor. Not seeing anything obvious, I started to put the upper motor cover back and noticed that the throttle/choke cable had shifted at the attachment in front of the engine. Because the cable had shifted forward almost 2 inches, the rotating attachment where the cable connects never forced the butterfly vane to rotate in the carburator to choke the engine . . . even when the theottle/choke cable actuator was pushed all the up. In other words for a number of years, I was never choking the engine when I was trying to start it with the throttle/choke lever pushed all the way up to the "Choke" position. After I readjusted the relative position of the theottle/choke cable at its attaching bracket, I waited until the next morning to start the mower engine. After a very brief crank the engine started right up. I knew then that the starting problem had been solved and corrected. As I think about it, I should have realized something was wrong with the choking mechanism, when the engine ran fine in the fully choked position. After I adjusted the cable position, the engine sputters and runs rough when the throttle/choke actuator is pushed up in the Choke position. As soon as I pull the actuator back to the Fast position, the engine smooths right out. Thank you for this very valuable "fixya" website and for making it such a valuable interactive resource. Don Marteeny"